I finally saw Jamie in a dream
He was standing in front of his
dad’s house, poised to leave,
leaning against a long shiny
black Cadillac
The house was like a black
and white wedding cake,
double-decker, balcony
trimmed with lace and white
lilies, and those strands of
imitation pearls that can be big
and tiny. His dad was
Bella Lugosi wedding Dracula
awkwardly seeing him off in a tux
with tails, everything shining
joke black and white, against joke
green grass and blue sky
The whole scene
was a wedding funeral, Jamie
was waiting for his wife
to come downstairs and
get in the car
I know you’ve been
a few places
I know
you’ve been back
from them
Those places look
joke black in my mind
They must feel joke black
sometimes. Like an inky
cartoon spider web
The most perfect and
frightening. The dark appeal
of a quill, with the sharp
point
Getting older is just when
things start getting realer and
closer to home
And one day
you never come
back
but sissy bliss
there are all kinds
We liked to chew aspirin
because of the taste
I’m on the airplane again
chewing aspirin
United Airlines would
like to congratulate two
of our passengers
Mr. and Mrs. Brookes
are celebrating their
50th wedding anniversary!
